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On Sunday 15th Oct the first Thames Valley League games were held at Reading RFC with squads from Bucks and Berks competing at both the U14 and U17 age band. This was the point when several months of planning and excellent cooperation from clubs across the region came together on the pitches. The model of competing as “Club Clusters” allows affiliated clubs with just a few girls to contribute to the pool of competitive players and is, we hope, a flexible enough approach to be modified as player numbers increases. For this first season it was decided to play with just one side per county to ensure we had viable numbers but this can easily be expanded in subsequent seasons.
U14 Thames Valley Berks 0 vs Thames Valley Bucks 53
This was a harsh opening game for a young and largely inexperienced Berks side coming up against an older, more experienced Bucks side. Bucks were able to keep possession better and swing the ball out to find space from which to run in tries. The Bucks girls, from several different clubs, are to be commended for settling into playing together as a team very quickly. For several of the Berks girls this was only their first or second match and it provided great match experience from which they will learn quickly.
Tries from: Lee(3), Hopkins (1), Woodfall (1), Parry (1), Hillson (1), Chanel (1), Smyth (1). Conversions: Cattell (2), Wood (2).
Squads:
Berks:
Bucks: Partridge, Hillson, Cattell, Hopkins, Smyth, Gould, Chesterman, Lee, Woodfall, Wood, Beckerleg, Parry, Duncombe
U17 Thames Valley Berks 15 vs Thames Valley Bucks 15.
As can be seen from the score line a closely fought match and a joy to watch. Quite a number of the players and spectators knew each other from regional games last year which made for a friendly (but competitive!) atmosphere both on and off the pitch. Berks had to work hard to contain the blistering speed of Underwood on the wing who scored two tries and would have had a third except for a crunching tackle from Berks fullback Field. For every try Bucks scored, Berks replied in kind. Both teams, I suspect came away thinking “we could have had that!” but in the event, probably a fair result and a very fitting opening game for the new League.
Berks Tries from: Archer (1), Field(1), Symes(1). No conversions.
Bucks tries: Underwood (2), Graham (1)
Squads:
Berks:
Bucks: Taylor, Wright, Nash, Humberstone, Underwood, Darvell, Newson, Sutton, Hopkins, Carter, Woodfall, Beamish K, Beamish L, Dawson, Woodfield, Robinson, Leyland, Craig, Graham, Calloway, Calder, Angill-Williams, Evans, Maloney, Williams(Capt).
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